Isinama ng US magazine na National Geographic Traveler ang Pilipinas sa kanyang listahan ng 20 “Best Trips 2016”, inilarawan ang bansa na mayroong “An Island for Every Taste.”
Nabantog ang Pilipinas sa pagiging “the odd one out” sa clan ng mga bansa sa Asia-Pacific na nagsimula bilang “a loose grouping of Indo-Malay tribes, which endured nearly 400 years of Spanish rule, then 48 years as a U.S. territory.”
Kinilala rin ng unranked list ang bansa sa pagiging “mix of tribal pride, Catholic fervor, American pop-culture savvy, and tropical affability.”
Nagbabala sa mga bisita na ang kabiserang lungsod ng bansa, ang Manila, ay “traffic-clogged”, ngunit hinikayat din na galugarin ang isa sa Spanish churches noong unang panahon, ang walled center ng Intramuros at panoorin ang sunset sa Manila Bay sunset.
Isinuhestyon din ng magazine na bisitahin ang “some of the thousands of beaches, from the pink sands of Great Santa Cruz Island to the black sands of Albay.”
“Divers off Palawan, Apo, and Siargao islands delight in hundreds of coral and fish species. On the southern isle of Mindanao, more than 1,300 land species—including the endangered Philippine eagle—reside in Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, which recently joined northern Luzon’s rice terraces as a World Heritage site,” mababasa sa artikulo.
“If the Philippines is that quirky member of the family, it also is the one that always invites you over for dinner, a uniquely Filipino fusion experience that intermingles salty, sour, and savory flavors,” dagdag dito.
Ang ibang napasama sa listahan ng Best Trips 2016 ay ang e Cote d’Or, Burgundy, France; Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil; Bermuda Danube River; Eastern Bhutan; Capability Brown’s Gardens, Britain; Glasglow, Scotland; Greenland; Hawai’I Volcanoes National Park; at Hokkaido, Japan.
Nasa listahan din ang New York City; Okavango Delta, Botswana; Philippines; Masurian Lake District, Poland; Seychelles; Tangier and Smith Islands, Chesapeake; San Diego/Tijuana; Uruguay; Winnipeg, Canada; at South Georgia Island. (PNA)